So I liquidated my ipad 3 for the right price and got an ipad mini with the cash

despite what the media reported, 5 days later there are still lines at Apple stores for this thing. And there are five apple stores on this island.

from my use the resolution/display is not a drawback, unless you are on the fence regarding how much further your dollars can take you. but visually it is not a drawback. I was expecting to be annoyed by extremely large pixels or throwback clarity, but those things aren't present.

reading comics is perfect! reading was the main thing I was concerned about, I don't do it much, but now I will do it more

my lightning connector does not work. there are reports of other people having bad lightning cables and having to get that exchanged at apple. tolerable only because the ipad battery lasts like a week with sporadic use.

R A V E N D R I V E wrote: reading comics is perfect! reading was the main thing I was concerned about, I don't do it much, but now I will do it more

That's the main reason I'm thinking about getting one. Kinda ironic/sad to say, but I have a hope that I'll read more if I get an ipad mini (as if I'm somehow unable to without an apple product... bahhhhhh)

C. Scott Photography wrote: That's the main reason I'm thinking about getting one. Kinda ironic/sad to say, but I have a hope that I'll read more if I get an ipad mini (as if I'm somehow unable to without an apple product... bahhhhhh)

yeah the physical size of the screen was what was attractive to me, being much closer to 8 inches than other 7 inch tablets

i loved how crisp the nexus 7 was but the physical size meant more zooming in to be immersed in the text or images. and I can really go without "guided view" on these comics, in that sense I would like to experience the whole page at a time.

my vision acuity (eyesight) is 20-10 which is on the right (correct) side of the bell curve

I like that the Nexus 7 can fit in my pocket. I agree that the resolution in a mini is not a deal-breaker. I think the extreme high resolution on tablets is pretty useless. Even the HP Touchpad with the 1024x768 at 10" looks fine, as did the original ipads and other tablets with similar resolution.

I really have no use for tablets. I used to own the HP touchpad and that was because they discontinued it and practically gave it away for $100. I never took it anywhere and sat dormant in a carry case. Luckily my daughter wanted a tablet for christmas so I gave it to her as a gift. I was at the mall this past Fri when the mini was on display at the apple store but I can tell it will also remain dormant because the size is odd. I can't fit it in my pockets like I do my android phone. Its a problem to keep it in a bag and forget it.

GreatMomentsPhotography wrote: I really have no use for tablets. I used to own the HP touchpad and that was because they discontinued it and practically gave it away for $100. I never took it anywhere and sat dormant in a carry case. Luckily my daughter wanted a tablet for christmas so I gave it to her as a gift. I was at the mall this past Fri when the mini was on display at the apple store but I can tell it will also remain dormant because the size is odd. I can't fit it in my pockets like I do my android phone. Its a problem to keep it in a bag and forget it.

R A V E N D R I V E wrote: So I liquidated my ipad 3 for the right price and got an ipad mini with the cash

despite what the media reported, 5 days later there are still lines at Apple stores for this thing. And there are five apple stores on this island.

from my use the resolution/display is not a drawback, unless you are on the fence regarding how much further your dollars can take you. but visually it is not a drawback. I was expecting to be annoyed by extremely large pixels or throwback clarity, but those things aren't present.

reading comics is perfect! reading was the main thing I was concerned about, I don't do it much, but now I will do it more

my lightning connector does not work. there are reports of other people having bad lightning cables and having to get that exchanged at apple. tolerable only because the ipad battery lasts like a week with sporadic use.

cheerio!

I want it for reading comics so bad. I've gone through an LG tablet (opens only half the comics) and a Kindle Fire (screen an eeensy bit too small to read comics) and I have no doubt that stuff works on the ipad.

I bought an IPad Mini and there were no lines. Best Buy had mine 5 days after release day. I bought a black 64g and love it. I didn't sell my regular IPad though because they each have their own place. The Mini is highly portable and crazy thin.... even in it's case.

Since I bought mine at Best Buy and I'm a Silver Rewards member with a triple point coupon..... I'm getting about $75-100 back from the purchase. Hard to "get a deal" on Apple products but I managed one.

GreatMomentsPhotography wrote: I really have no use for tablets. I used to own the HP touchpad and that was because they discontinued it and practically gave it away for $100. I never took it anywhere and sat dormant in a carry case. Luckily my daughter wanted a tablet for christmas so I gave it to her as a gift. I was at the mall this past Fri when the mini was on display at the apple store but I can tell it will also remain dormant because the size is odd. I can't fit it in my pockets like I do my android phone. Its a problem to keep it in a bag and forget it.

The Ipad Mini WILL slide into most pockets. I do it all the time and it's even in a case... making it larger/thicker.

I would do the same. I've found I prefer 7ish over 10ish when it comes to media consumption tablets. There aren't any real performance differences outside of video games and processor intensive stuff.

I fully understand. I just bought both a kindle paperwhite and a 13" Windows 8 convertible. I wouldn't want to watch a movie on the kindle (even if it was LCD model vs the e-ink), but I probably wouldn't want to try to use the 13" Lenovo as a tablet (although you can) out in public.

So, a question: I have a prejudice that says that when you sacrifice weight you get more fragility. In other words, I've bought thin & light stuff in the past, and they often broke easily with (what I could consider) "normal" usage.

So, a question: I have a prejudice that says that when you sacrifice weight you get more fragility. In other words, I've bought thin & light stuff in the past, and they often broke easily with (what I could consider) "normal" usage.

So, a question: I have a prejudice that says that when you sacrifice weight you get more fragility. In other words, I've bought thin & light stuff in the past, and they often broke easily with (what I could consider) "normal" usage.

So, how solid is the thing?

good question, get a case which absorbs more impact if this is a concern

this thing is half a pound! more than two times lighter than the ipad 3 which is awesome btw

I am seriously considering dropping my iPhone, which I almost never use as a phone but only for Web and texts, and instead getting a Mini with 3G (and no contract commitment) and a low-cost phone so that I have something to make calls from when necessary.

I do use my phone heavily for texting though, and I have tried texting apps that aren't tied to my actual phone number and have not been very happy with them. Does anyone know of a good one? Because then I'd probably use the Mini for texting and really keep the phone only for phone calls.

I noticed on the Apple page that it appears that Sprint includes your wifi time on the gigs-per-month data limit but Verizon and AT&T do not. Since AT&T sucks balls, I will never use them again once my current phone contract is up so that leaves Verizon or Sprint, and if Sprint counts even wifi data transfer on one's limit, then Verizon appears to be a better deal. Am I not correctly understanding how this works?

ME_ wrote: I am seriously considering dropping my iPhone, which I almost never use as a phone but only for Web and texts, and instead getting a Mini with 3G (and no contract commitment) and a low-cost phone so that I have something to make calls from when necessary.

I do use my phone heavily for texting though, and I have tried texting apps that aren't tied to my actual phone number and have not been very happy with them. Does anyone know of a good one? Because then I'd probably use the Mini for texting and really keep the phone only for phone calls.

I noticed on the Apple page that it appears that Sprint includes your wifi time on the gigs-per-month data limit but Verizon and AT&T do not. Since AT&T sucks balls, I will never use them again once my current phone contract is up so that leaves Verizon or Sprint, and if Sprint counts even wifi data transfer on one's limit, then Verizon appears to be a better deal. Am I not correctly understanding how this works?

Google Voice

Google Voice has been my main phone number for 2 years and I love that I can get the texts in multiple places or look at them/reply to them online. I think you can call from your ipad too if you wanted. There are some sort of options for using your current phone number too.

I was content with Verizon since it was no-contract.

My only gripe with Verizon ever had been the cost ON CONTRACT. which had pushed me to gsm carriers such as Tmobile or AT&T , off contract Sprint and Verizon are good deals. I was also much poorer all those years ago.

I actually have a GV number - two in fact - but I think I experienced delays, sometimes quite long, in getting texts to my GV numbers. Maybe I had my phone set up wrong. Any tips you have would be appreciated!

It just kills me to pay for all these phone minutes when I use about 50 per month. Ideally I'd love to have a Mini for Web, email, apps, the better camera, and texts if I can get it to work; and a basic phone for calling and texts if the Mini isn't handy at the moment. I see no reason to pay monthly phone charges when I hardly use the phone. If I get a no-contract iPhone, it's almost $700 - i can buy a Mini and a basic phone for far less than that, and no contract on the Mini and possibly none on the phone. For people who really use their iPhone primarily as a Web (not phone) device, it seems to me that it's a much better deal to get a Mini and any old phone.

Or, there was someone on here who said she took the SIM out of her iPhone and put in a Boost one or some other no-contract phone's card and uses it that way, for $25/month. That would be good for me too, because even though the mail app doens't work, it would work on the Mini - and no contract either!

R A V E N D R I V E wrote: So I liquidated my ipad 3 for the right price and got an ipad mini with the cash

despite what the media reported, 5 days later there are still lines at Apple stores for this thing. And there are five apple stores on this island.

from my use the resolution/display is not a drawback, unless you are on the fence regarding how much further your dollars can take you. but visually it is not a drawback. I was expecting to be annoyed by extremely large pixels or throwback clarity, but those things aren't present.

reading comics is perfect! reading was the main thing I was concerned about, I don't do it much, but now I will do it more

my lightning connector does not work. there are reports of other people having bad lightning cables and having to get that exchanged at apple. tolerable only because the ipad battery lasts like a week with sporadic use.

I'm a resolution snob. Plus, with the prices so close to each other, an iPad 3 makes more sense. But even then, while I love the iPad, I'd rather invest my money into a laptop.

Don't stop there. For just a couple hundred more of a laptop price you could get the new high end 27" iMac, then for a bit more you get the Mac Pro... See how it works?! Marketing and price scale.

I played with the new iPad mini and did a side by side test with my iPad2 and I was impressed to the point of consolidating all my devices to just the iPad mini. I too hardly use my iPhone for calls anymore so a cheapy flip phone will do me for phone calls now and everything else in the tablet, I'll save a couple hundred on data a month by doing this. Plus the iPad mini will link with my Mac at home seamlessly and it'll fit in my pocket

Jay Farrell wrote: I never understood the point of an ipad mini....wouldn't an iphone and ipod do similar tasks? I still have my ipad 1, lol. Works great and paid for.

4" vs. 7.9" vs. 9.7"

It just depends on your needs and portability styles

The mini does have a 1/4" border on the side (in portrait orientation) for easy one hand operation and is light and thin, so basically it's the best compromise for the larger iPad and iPhone/iPod touch.

The mini does have a 1/4" border on the side (in portrait orientation) for easy one hand operation and is light and thin, so basically it's the best compromise for the larger iPad and iPhone/iPod touch.

Oh ok....hmmm.....I could see it being harder to type on, how is that? I don't find the ipad too cumbersome to lug around, not sure I'd see a reason to need a mini, but I may go see one next time I'm at the Apple Store or Best Buy.

Oh ok....hmmm.....I could see it being harder to type on, how is that? I don't find the ipad too cumbersome to lug around, not sure I'd see a reason to need a mini, but I may go see one next time I'm at the Apple Store or Best Buy.

You won't know until you have one in your hands. As for typing, after a minute or so it was no problem in both landscape and portrait mode, much easier than my iPhone with my fat thumbs oh and because it is an iOS device the keyboard splits on it too if you prefer.

Jay Farrell wrote: I never understood the point of an ipad mini....wouldn't an iphone and ipod do similar tasks? I still have my ipad 1, lol. Works great and paid for.

Not even the same experience. The Ipad Mini is not an enlarged Itouch or Iphone. It's a shrunken Ipad and an amazing piece of tech. I have a regular Ipad as well and it feels almost obnoxious in size/weight when holding it in one hand and the Mini in the other. I have many Ipods, an Itouch, Ipad, and Ipad Mini... and the Mini is by far the coolest of them all. It is just so thin and light while retaining plenty of screen size and that's a big part of the experience. Until you own and customize your own, it's hard to describe. Looking at one in the store does it no justice. I can't see anyone ever regretting the purchase of a Mini. The thing is just sweet as hell..... especially if you go for the 64g size and cram it full of good stuff like I did. It's just amazing that something so thin and light can pack this much entertainment.

If anyone is interested in free Itunes or Amazon gift cards.... check out the freemyapps app. You basically get points by downloading and trying certain apps out. When you get enough points, you can redeem. It only takes a few minutes each day or whenever you're bored. I just delete the apps after I try them. I almost never mess with stuff like this but it's an easy way to get the apps YOU want..... for free.